Wiring connector socket



y 1942- L. o. PARKER' 2,288,918

WIRE CONNECTQR socxm Filed March 24,1941

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C ATTORNEYS Patented July 7, 1942 UNITED STATE WIRING CONNECTOR SOCKETLeslie 0. Parker, Anderson, Ind'., assignor to General MotorsCorporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application March24, 1941, Serial No. 384,837

1 Claim.

electrical connectors and more particularly to the type of electricalconnector for use on automotive vehicles.

It is an objectof the invention to provide an electrical connector ofsimple and inexpensive (Cl. This invention relates to the manufacture ofThe bared portion 24 of the wire is attached to the connector 2| also bythe means of solder construction which may 'be manufactured at low cost.7 Further objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is aperspective view of a strip of material in the process ofprogressive formation for providing the metallic part of an electricalconnector disclosed in the present invention.

Fig. 21s a perspective view of a wire having attached thereto one of theconnectors severed from the strip of material shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a wire attached to a plug adapted to bereceived by the connector shown in Fig. .2. v v

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing an insulating tube enclosing theconnector attached to the wire shown in Fig. 2. V I

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the wire and insulating tube after thetube has been deformed by the action of heat and pressure soas to becomepermanently attached to the connector and wire.

Fig. 6 is drawn to a larger scale than the preceding figures, shows alongitudinal sectional view-of the insulating tube, metal connector andindicated at 26. Also the connector 2l 'is providedwith resilient ears21 which are spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of theportion 28 of connector plug 30 attached to wire 3| as shown in Fig. 3.The spacing of ears 21 is greater than the diameter of the tip end 29.

When the plug 30 is pressed into the connector socket 2|, the ears 2'!spread apart to allow spherical bosses 32 on the interior sides of theears to ride over the surface 28 into plug 30 and to allow these bosses32 to be received by the annular groove 33 of the plug 30. In this way,the withdrawal of theplug 30 from the socket 2I- is yieldably resistedsince the withdrawalv of the plug from the socket requires that the ears2! must spread apart a distance such that the bosses 21 may ride overthe large portion 28 of the plug 30. v

In order to prevent contact between the connected plug and socket with ametallic part such as the automobile frameand thus to prevent a shortcircuit, the socket 2| is enclosed by tube 40 formed preferably of.thermo-plastic material and having a length suificient to enclose boththe socket and the plug. The tube is of such cross sectional contour andhas such dimension that it will clear the resilient ears 21 and thus notinterfere with the spreading thereof when I the plug is pushed into thesocket. While the wire, all of these parts being permanently at- 'tachedto each other.-

Fig. 1 shows a strip of metal 20 which has been sheared and bentprogressively to form conof severing the section :1 from remainingportions of the strip 2|. The machine for performing these operations issimilar to the machine describe and'claimed in Patent No. 2,169,802granted to General Motors Corporation by C. J. Keller.

tube 40 is located in the proper position relative to the socket 2|, theportion of the tube 40 immediately adjacent the bared wire portion 24,the tangs 22 and 23 and the insulation 25 is deformed by the applicationof heat and pressure to cause a portion of the material and the tube toenvelop the tangs 22, 23 and the insulation 25 in order to permanentlyattach the tube 40 to the wire and connector socket as shown in Fig. 6.

I have, therefore, provided for the economical manufacture of aconnector socket and for'the attachment thereto of an insulated wire.The socket member is a one piece construction fabricated from a strip ofsheet metal, and is attached of this tube to the application of eachpressure causes its wall to, be deformed and squeezed around theconnector socket and insulated part of-the wire. An eflicient anddurable connector 2 I socket has, therefore, been provided at very lowcost.

While the embodiment oi the present invention as herein disclosed,constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claim whichfollows:

What is claimed is as follows:

The method of making a connector and cable I assembly which comprisesforming a connector,

attaching it to the insulated and bared portion of the cable, placing atube of non-conducting thermo-plastlc material around the connector andcable, said tube having such internal dimensions as to provide clearancefor the connector, a portion orthe tubersuri'qu i s the connector andextending beyond the free end thereot and a portion or the tubeextending' of the cable and the parts of the connector directly attachedto the cable while that part of the tube surrounding the portion of theconnector which extends from the cable remains in the original shape.

LESLIE .PARKER." m, l

